Mistletoe
by Red Pen Ninja
Summary: Christmas is just around the corner, and Cat's eager to spend every second of it with Sam. But between new-found emotions and torn loyalties, Sam finds that enjoying the holidays this year might be a bit harder than she thought. A somewhat fluffy, somewhat serious Puckentine Christmas story.
1. It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas

**Stars and Boulevards is now on hold because I just had to write this. Between the kiss and tumblr and all the Christmas music I've been listening to, this fic was a ticking time bomb that finally just exploded. Embrace it, my friends.**

**Disclaimer: Unlike the 2400 Christmas CDs I own, Sam and Cat does not belong to me. But I've been a good girl this year, so we'll see.**

_Mistletoe_

_It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas_

Sam throws open the door to her apartment and faces a rather strange scene in front of her. Strange things are pretty common where she lives, considering her roommate is none other than Cat Valentine. Between the two of them, strange things seem to have become the unofficial third part of their duo. She shuts the door behind her and leans against it, just taking her roommate in as she saunters around the apartment, ancient-looking garlands and twinkling Christmas lights piled high in her small arms. Over their speakers, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is blaring throughout the apartment and Cat is singing quietly to herself in her rich, gentle voice. Sam has only heard Cat sing a handful of times before, and every time the power and emotion in the girl's voice never ceases to amaze her.

"Whatcha doing, kid?" Sam asks, shaking her head to clear it of its traitorous, affectionate thoughts toward the redhead.

Cat whirls around, dropping her armful of random decorations in surprise, "Good, you're back! Did you get my text?"

Sam's hand finds her phone in her back pocket and pulls it out. On the screen, a single message from Cat sits waiting for her, reading "Pick up a Christmas tree on your way home!"

"So did you get it?" Cat says hopefully, almost bouncing with excitement.

Sam spreads her arms out wide, "Does it look like I have a tree?"

Cat's eyebrows furrow over previously hopeful brown eyes, "Darn. Oh well. We still have plenty of decorations."

She practically skips across their apartment to where an old cardboard box is resting on their kitchen table, filled to the brim with garlands and lights and wreaths and bows and nearly every Christmas decoration known to man. Sam selects an ornament at random and eyes it doubtfully.

"This is pretty old stuff," she says, tossing the ornament away carelessly.

"I know," Cat shrugs. "It's my Nona's stuff. I wanted to get new decorations but I spent the money on…something else."

She seems uncharacteristically lost in thought for a moment before re-entering her usual state of excitement and grabbing Sam's hand pleadingly. "Will you help me decorate, please? It'll be so much fun!"

Sam's traitorous heart is at it again and it flutters with delight when Cat rubs her thumb against her rough knuckles. Stifling her dumb emotions, she yanks her hand out of Cat's grasp and tries to be as reluctant as possible. But even though Cat's not touching her anymore, the girl has so many ways she can get to Sam. Her eyes, so pleading and deep, have stripped Sam down to her core and she knows that the only way her emotions will stop going haywire is for her to just give in.

"Fine." How bad could decorating really be?

* * *

Sam hates decorating. To be fair, she hasn't really decorated much in the past, what with her mom being her mom and everything. But Cat is insistent on everything being perfect and is being extremely pushy for someone whose voice is softer than cotton candy. The only redeeming factor is that Cat's favorite Christmas song is "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" which is always catchy and sounds even better when it's Cat herself singing it. The entire apartment is throbbing with Christmas carols reverberating through its tiny expanse and inch by inch, Christmas is starting to overtake the apartment. Wreaths are hung up on every door, the sliding glass doors have been airbrushed with fake snow, garlands are strung up over every possible surface so the whole apartment looks like some sort of Christmas forest gone wrong, and random ornaments dot the apartment wherever Cat saw fit.

"String this up over there," Cat says, tossing a long string of gold and red plastic ornaments over to Sam and gesturing to the cabinets encircling the kitchen.

Sam doesn't bother protesting (she tried that already when Cat insisted on having colored Christmas lights all over their room and decided that it'd be less painful to just let her have her way) and begins lining the cabinets with the rather tacky decoration.

"Why the sudden need to decorate anyway?" Sam asks casually.

"Sam!" Cat chides from where she's hanging stockings behind the couch. "Christmas is only a week away! Don't tell me you forgot about Christmas!"

Her tone implies that forgetting Christmas is the near equivalent of forgetting your own name or kicking a kitten. But Sam always has a nasty habit of forgetting important things like Christmas and birthdays and which fried chicken place has the good deal on Fridays. She throws a smile over her shoulder and Cat meets her eye just in time to smile back. This is one of the best things of being Sam and Cat. They're in tune with each other, and they always know when to catch each other's gaze and exchange a secret, loving best friend smile.

"Let's do outside next," Cat decides in a voice that leaves no room for argument, after looking away and putting the finishing touches on her decorations.

She gathers up a tangle of Christmas lights in her arms and hurries over to where Sam carelessly finishes her stringing of those ever-tacky ornaments. Cat inspects it for a moment before deciding that it meets her approval and links her arm through Sam's. Sam can never fully understand how they end up like this, always touching and always millimeters away from one another. Together, they make their way outside and Cat tosses the bundle on the ground before examining the door with an overly serious expression masking her features. Sam just hangs back and watches, crossing her arms to keep from getting too impatient. The music is still playing from inside their apartment, albeit slightly muffled now, but Sam can still pick up the words and the beat, and Cat is still singing quietly to herself as she ponders over their front door intently.

"Hey, can you give me a boost?" She says finally, as if this is the most casual question in the world.

"What?" Sam barks back, not even attempting to hide her surprise.

"Boost me up?" Cat repeats, slightly more uncertain this time. "I wanna put the lights over our door. It'd be so pretty! Please, Sam please, I'll do anything!"

And there's that tone again. That stupid, pleading, adoring tone that Cat always uses to get under Sam's skin. Sam is pretty sure Cat knows exactly what she's doing to her, and yet, Sam just allows it to keep happening. Whatever spell Cat has put her under, it's very powerful and blinds Sam to the point where she doesn't even realize how hooked she is. But when she does, it scares her. Yet she still does nothing about it.

With a noise of disgust, Sam rolls her eyes and comes to stand by Cat, crouching down so the smaller girl can clamber up her back. "Get on. And don't pull my hair."

"Kay, kay!" Cat replies joyfully, throwing her arms around Sam's neck and looping her legs around her waist.

Sam pulls herself back up to her full height, surprised at how little Cat weighs and how warm she is pressed against her. As if struck by lightning, she is suddenly and painfully aware of Cat touching her; her fingers brushing the skin of her neck, her legs wrapped securely around her waist, and her chin resting on her shoulder. Sam shakes her head again, disgusted by her own mind, and bucks Cat up a little higher, just to jostle her for putting her through this. She knows, somewhere within the recesses of her mind, that this isn't technically Cat's fault. But still, it feels good to maintain at least a little control over the situation. Meanwhile, Cat's perched on her back, giggling away as she fumbles with the Christmas lights. She tosses part of the strand over the doorway and tugs the rest of it across the frame until it drapes the entire door in unlit Christmas lights.

"Done yet?" Sam asks in a tone she can only hope implies impatience.

"Yup!" Her friend responds with her usual cheer. "I'm gonna jump down, don't trip me!"

Yet, of course, the second she jumps down, she catches Sam's leg with one of hers and the two of them go toppling to the ground. Cat lets out a squeal of surprise as she lands right on top of Sam, her arms splayed out around her and her face buried in Sam's hair. Underneath her, Sam grumbles incoherently and struggles to sit up. Her entire face is burning and she curses herself for being so disgustingly emotional. One of their neighbors who is hurrying by on his way to his apartment down the hall stops bustling for a moment and looks down at them curiously.

"Keep walking," Sam orders threateningly, although she knows she must not seem so while pinned underneath Cat.

He hurries away and Cat finally realizes that she is, in fact, on top of Sam and lying sprawled against her stomach with their legs tangled and her face in Sam's splaying hair.

"This would only happen to us," Cat laughs as she stands up and dusts herself off Her eyebrows knit together and her laugh disappears from her face when she catches a glimpse of her roommate. "Are you okay? You look pale."

She reaches down, offers Sam a hand, and tries to help her to her feet, though it's Sam doing most of the work. "I'm fine, kid. The lights look nice."

Cat, naturally, immediately forgets about Sam's apparent discomfort and turns back to her handiwork with glee. "I know! Let's light them up and then we can go watch _Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown_!"

She reaches down and plugs the cord of the lights into a nearby outlet and the entire door lights up in twinkling, joyful lights. In the dark of the courtyard outside their apartment, the lights look like stars on a bleak night. Sam smiles to herself in the glow of the Christmas lights; as far as decorating goes, maybe tonight wasn't so bad after all. Next to her, Cat stares at the lights in silent awe.

"So," Sam says after deciding that maybe Cat has had enough pretty lights for one night. "How about that movie?"

* * *

Twenty minutes later finds the pair on the couch, each with a mug of hot chocolate in hand and with a blanket covering their tangled legs. Sam had decided long ago that the movie Cat had selected (_The Year Without A Santa Claus_) was extremely dumb, but she didn't bother to say anything. Other than her friend's crappy choice in movies, she didn't have cause for complaint. The cocoa was good, she had her most comfortable pajama pants on, and her best friend was by her side. All in all, it had been a pretty good night thus far.

"Are you cold?" Cat asks, taking a break in laughing at whatever ridiculousness had just appeared on screen and turning to Sam.

"Not really," she replies, taking a long sip from her mug and wiping her lips, decidedly satisfied.

"Oh. I am."

Then Cat turns back to her movie, as if forgetting that the entire conversation never took place at all. Sam rides it off as typical Cat and goes back to thinking about all the Christmases before this one, how different they had all been. It had snowed one Christmas, years ago back in Seattle, with Carly and Freddie and Spencer and that day would be one she would never forget. She remembered sleeping over at Carly's that Christmas Eve and waking up to find snow pouring from the heavens in thick, white, wonderful clumps. And they had all gone outside and she'd put snow down Freddie's…

"What are you doing?" Sam yelps, looking down at Cat, who's now practically on top of her again.

"Cuddling," Cat replies without looking up. "I'm cold."

"But you're literally on me," Sam says, and realizes that she might be saying this a lot to this girl.

And it's true. Cat has somehow wormed her way around Sam so she has both legs thrown around her, her hand intertwined with Sam's, and her head resting against Sam's shoulder. If Cat's cold, Sam thinks dismally, she won't be for long. Sam's body temperature has probably jumped at least one hundred and thirty degrees in the past three seconds.

"Please?" Cat begs again, and Sam wonders if this is all Cat really knows how to do. For a girl who can't make soup, she's surprisingly masterful at getting what she wants. "I'm cold. And tired. And I won't ask for anything else tonight."

Sam highly doubts that and she's ready to say no, because she's done so much for Cat already tonight. She's let herself play along with Cat all night long and although it has been, all things considered, a very enjoyable night, she still has an image to maintain. She can't allow Cat to sink her hold any deeper, can't allow herself to fall any further. She has to revert back to being callous and biting, knowing full well that it may hurt Cat, but she always makes up for it later. She has to save herself first, before devoting herself to Cat. She often feels like she's part of a sick tug-of-war, half of her fighting to save herself from Cat and the other half wanting to fall deeper. All in all, she has no idea what's going on, what she wants, or even what Cat herself wants.

But it seems she doesn't have to worry about Cat anymore. Curled up against her, with her legs tucked gently against Sam and her hand clasping hers, Cat has fallen asleep with her head resting lovingly on Sam's shoulder. Her long lashes flutter like butterfly's wings against her cheeks and her face looks purely at peace, relaxed and content. Sam sighs loudly, slouching down against the couch in defeat and glaring down at the girl asleep against her. Even without knowing, Cat has gotten her way again. It's enough to make Sam want to get up and leave her here alone on this accursed, uncomfortable couch. But just as Sam is about to retreat to the bedroom, Cat mumbles something incoherently and burrows deeper against Sam's neck. A rush of emotion and sympathy immediately overtakes Sam and she hurries to stifle it. She admits to herself, somewhat irritably, that there's no escaping Cat for tonight, except through sleep.

She shuts off the TV and the room plunges in darkness, a welcome relief so she won't have to look down and see Cat clutching her and nuzzling her in her sleep. Sam shuts her eyes and tries to relax, forcing out thoughts of Cat's touch and her perfume wafting off of her. But even with her eyes shut, she can still picture Cat smiling at her, laughing and full of joy, as they stood side by side, hanging up Christmas decorations together. And, maybe, despite all her biting sarcasm and swirling, revolting emotions, just maybe, Sam is actually looking forward to Christmas with Cat.

**There ya have it folks! Chapter 1 of a Christmas fic in November. But come on, it's my first Christmas shipping Puckentine (all of ours, actually) and we should do something great to commemorate it. So, go on, post that fanart and those edits and some cute, fluffy fics. Seize the day. Take it from me. **

**And besides, with my notorious writing reputation, this story won't be finished until Christmas anyway.**

**All I Want for Christmas is You (To Review). **


	2. Make My Wish Come True

**Wow, thanks for all the feedback you guys! I'm officially on Thanksgiving break so I'm happy to say I have tons of free time to write. Maybe this story will be finished by the New Year…**

**Insert witty disclaimer here.**

_Make My Wish Come True_

Pale, winter sunlight filters through the windows in the living room and Sam wakes up to find herself strangely achy, cold, and surprisingly without Cat in her lap. She stretches languidly and looks around the empty apartment with mild satisfaction. The apartment looks cluttered and overly festive now, with garlands and wreaths and fake snow and ornaments in every little corner. But at the same time, Sam secretly likes the look of it. It's very Sam-and-Cat at its core, a little over the top and somewhat messy, but original and full of heart. Yes, Sam can get used to seeing the apartment look like this, all festive and bright and welcoming. She rises off the couch and begins a slow, lazy walk around the apartment to search for her missing roommate.

"Cat?" she calls, but each time she receives no response.

She retreats into the kitchen, telling herself not to be worried but finding that she can't help it at all. But when she passes by the fridge, a new addition to the fridge's door catches her eye. In Cat's loopy, girly handwriting, a note has been hastily left for Sam.

_Morning sleepyhead! I didn't want to wake you up since you looked so happy sleeping. You sleep a lot… Anyway, I'm going shopping with Tori and Jade to buy Christmas gifts ;) I'll be back soon! And also your first Christmas gift is on the bed. Enjoy! _

_Love, Cat_

Sam stares blankly for a moment at where Cat signed her name, surrounding it with tiny hearts and a little picture of a happy Cat and she shakes her head fondly. Yet she's slightly worried, because she hasn't even thought about what she's getting Cat for Christmas. In fact, it was one of the last things on her mind considering she had all but forgotten about Christmas until last night. This is very like Cat though, Sam realizes dismally. She'll go over the top and shower Sam in presents for Christmas and Sam will flounder and screw up until she finds the perfect gift to make it all right. What would she even get Cat? She knows that she could probably get away with getting her a cardboard box and Cat would still look up and smile at her, all teary and adoring, like Sam was the greatest person in the world as opposed to the laziest, meanest roommate this side of the Mississippi. She could totally do it, and she totally would, if she didn't feel that stupid, stomach-churning, heart-wrenching need to please Cat, really please her. It scares her, thinking about how far she would go to make Cat happy, and infuriates her. But it's Cat, and it's so easy to care about her, to not want to hurt her, that Sam can't bring herself to do anything but please Cat.

Waiting on her bed in their room is a single box, wrapped in bright red wrapping paper. Sam fights the urge to roll her eyes as she sits down on the edge of the bed, pulling the box over to her and tearing off the wrapping paper. She takes the lid off the box and furrows her brow at what's waiting inside. Folded neatly into the box is a red Christmas sweater, trimmed with rows of little white snowflakes all down the expanse of the sweater. Cat has left a note taped onto the front of the sweater as well.

_Merry Christmas, Sam! Now we can match, and stay warm! See you soon!_

Sam lets out an involuntary groan as she pictures her and Cat in the same tacky Christmas sweater. Only Cat, she thinks with mild agitation. She puts the sweater back in the box, fully intending to leave it there for the rest of the day and push it out of her mind. She returns to the kitchen to grab some leftover chicken and watch something mindless on TV. It's miserably cold in their apartment for some reason, and Sam struggles to ignore the chills creeping across her body, because there's no way she's putting on that stupid sweater, no matter how tempted she is.

* * *

The mall is alive and bustling with busy shoppers and Christmas carols playing over the grainy speakers. In front of an overly pricey jewelry store, Jade leans against a nearby pillar, observing her redheaded, enthusiastic friend. They had picked her up earlier this morning after a frantic text had urged them to go Christmas shopping a few days before the holiday itself. When they arrived at Cat's place, she had been wearing a ridiculously bright Christmas sweater, emblazoned with knit white snowflakes against a loud red background. Jade refused to let her into the car until she put a sweatshirt over it, and the entire way to the mall Cat had rambled about Christmas and decorating and Sam and finding a gift. They had been at the mall for a few hours now, being dragged to different stores and watching Cat act very indecisive and flustered by the sheer thought of finding her roommate a gift all morning. Jade has been keeping herself quiet and occupied with a cup of coffee, but as the coffee begins to dwindle, she can feel herself getting more and more agitated. On the other hand, Tori has been nothing but supportive and it's only serving to worsen Jade's already terrible mood.

Still, they are both Cat's closest friends, and they both owe it to her to help her when she needs it. All the same, listening to Cat fawn all over someone Jade has never met is starting to get old, and present-searching for Cat's mysterious roommate became tedious three stores ago. Even Tori is starting to look slightly exhausted and agitated; even she can't be patient with Cat forever. She retreats to where Jade is standing, shaking her head and running a hand through her hair worriedly.

"She's got it bad for this girl," Tori announces quietly, watching as Cat peers into the jewelry store window with awe.

"Good job, Sherlock," Jade whispers back, the expression on her face half intrigued and half annoyed. "I don't see what's so great about this Sam chick anyway."

Tori huffs an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes at her icy friend. Deep down, she decides, Jade must be terribly worried about Cat, if she's being this bitter about a girl she's never met. If Tori is being honest with herself, she would say that she too is worried for their young, naïve friend. She has such a bad habit of falling too hard and too fast and getting hurt, and Tori really only wants to see her happy. And although she knows she should be suspicious of this girl who she has only seen online and who appears to be tough as nails and totally _wrong_ for sweet, innocent little Cat, she bites her tongue every time she feels the building urge to snap Cat out of her fantasy. But every time, something stops her. Cat just looks so purely happy when she talks about Sam, and Tori can't bring herself to squash it. Even if Cat hasn't admitted it to them yet, it's so painfully obvious that she cares for Sam, deeply and truly, for better or for worse.

"It's Sam, from iCarly," Tori says finally, as if that should explain Cat's infatuation with her new roommate.

"I don't care who she is. Cat barely knows her and they're living together and now she's obsessed with finding her the perfect gift. Have you ever met Sam?"

Before Tori can answer, Cat saunters back over to the pair, a huge smile plastered on her face, clearly unfazed by her lack of success in shopping thus far.

"Where to now?" Tori asks in as cheerful a voice as she can manage.

"Home," Jade deadpans.

"No!" Cat pouts. "Come on, you guys have to help me! I have no idea what to get Sam."

"Well what does she like?" Tori offers helpfully.

Cat ponders this for a moment, falling quiet and thoughtful as the trio begins to walk again, weaving their way through the crowd of shoppers. "She likes her motorcycle. And fried chicken. And sleeping."

"Get her a pillow," Jade says with a shrug. "Done."

Cat and Tori both turn to her, wearing matching expressions of disapproval. She simply raises her eyebrows and smirks before sipping her coffee nonchalantly. Tori turns back to Cat, feeling a rush of pity when she sees the desperation on her friend's face.

"You wanna know what I would do?" Tori says, nudging Cat with her elbow encouragingly.

"What?" Cat asks, her eyes alight with hope and life once more.

"Well, once, I didn't know what to get my boyfri…I mean _friend_ for Christmas so I made him a CD of songs that reminded me of him," Tori explains, ignoring the pointed look Jade is shooting her from the other side of Cat.

Cat, however, is beaming with gratefulness and is practically overflowing with joy. "That's a great idea! Thank you so much, Tori!"

She practically skips away, leaving her two exhausted friends in her wake. "Come on, I've gotta get home and get started!"

Tori and Jade trail after her, watching in mild amusement as she hurries through the crowd, intent on getting home and getting to work. Jade snickers softly to herself, shaking her head and looking over at Tori sharply.

"Real smooth, by the way. You didn't suggest a romantic gift _at all_," she raises her eyebrows interrogatively at Tori.

"It wasn't on purpose!" Tori protests. "I just thought it would be…nice. Don't you want Cat to be happy?"

Jade grumbles something incoherently and takes another long swig of coffee to avoid Tori's compromising question. When she finishes, she gives a careless shrug.

"Well at least we can go home now."

* * *

The first thing Cat does when she hops out of Jade's car is peel her sweatshirt off over her head, tugging her Christmas sweater down proudly and smiling at Jade and Tori as cheekily as she can manage. Jade rolls her eyes as if the sweater is the most offensive thing she has ever laid eyes on and Tori just waves goodbye as Jade guns the engine and roars out of the parking lot. With a satisfied smile, Cat re-shoulders her purse and saunters into the apartment. She sings quietly to herself, mentally running through some of her favorite songs. A familiar burst of eagerness courses through her veins, as it always does when she thinks about music or something she's planning or Sam. It's stronger than caffeine and richer than any other feeling she's felt before and she is nearly bouncing with excitement.

She unlocks the door to the apartment and prepares herself to make a grand, theatrical entrance. She throws open the door, spreading her arms out wide so Sam can see the matching pattern of her Christmas sweater and smiling broadly, "Honey, I'm home!"

On any other day, Cat's entrance would ignite varied responses from her roommate. Sometimes, Sam would dismiss her entrance with a simple nod, other time she would come over to her and bring her into the kitchen and they would talk and eat together, and other times still Sam would emerge from deeper in the apartment at the sound of her voice, coming out just to see her. But today, it seems like Sam hadn't even noticed Cat had walked in. She stands with her back to Cat, clutching her cell phone up to her ear and barking angrily at someone on the other end. She's in the Christmas sweater Cat left her, surprisingly, but the festive, joyful print looks out of place and unwanted as Sam argues on the phone. Her voice is rough and ragged from yelling, and her entire body seems tense and thrumming with anger. Even from behind, Cat can see her chest heaving as she struggles to control herself and she shakes with suppressed anger that threatens to overflow.

"…can't and why would I anyway? There's nothing for me there!" Sam is saying, her voice fuming and intimidating. Cat has never heard her talk like this, this wound up and fiery, and it startles her to see Sam like this.

Sam pauses, breathing heavily as she listens to whoever is on the other end. "I told you, no…I don't believe you…I'm done having this conversation. Goodbye!"

She slams her thumb on the end button rather forcefully and whirls around to face Cat, her eyes, dark with anger, widening as she sees Cat leaning against the door, her face shocked. Her expression softens slightly and she takes a few deep breaths to calm herself down. By now, Cat should know that she's quick to anger and easily incited, but Sam has done her best, up until this point, to keep Cat somewhat innocent of Sam's full capabilities when she's angry. Cat has heard her yell, of course, and seen her fight with whoever is idiotic enough to cross the two of them, but this time, Sam had really let herself go.

"Hey, kid," Sam begins, crossing over to her slowly, as if to stop Cat from running off in fear. Her voice has been specially lowered and softened for Cat. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

"Who was it?" Cat asks in a hushed voice, her eyes not meeting Sam's.

"No one," she dismisses with a wave of her hand. Then she reaches out and rubs Cat's arm, somewhat awkwardly and tensely, but Cat looks up and smiles weakly all the same. "Don't worry about it. So, what'd you get at the mall?"

That snaps Cat out of her sulkiness almost instantly and she flashes Sam a genuine, sneaky smile. She flounces past her friend with a superior, somewhat melodramatic hair flip. "Oh, nothing."

"Nothing?" Sam questions, her eyebrows finding the top of her forehead. "You were at the mall all morning."

"I had a better idea," Cat says sweetly, and Sam cocks her head to the side, eyeing her redheaded friend cautiously and for a moment, they stare each other down, neither one blinking or moving their gaze.

Finally, Sam relents. "You're up to something. But I'm too lazy to want to figure it out."

Cat grins proudly for the briefest moment before the smile falls off her face as she gasps loudly, pointing with a shaking finger at Sam's upper body. "You're wearing the sweater! We're matching!"

With a roll of her eyes, Sam groans loudly and shakes her head, "I was cold, okay? Ugh, I'm gonna go change."

Her tone of obvious disgust implies that wearing a Christmas sweater of any kind, or matching with Cat, is equal to cannibalism or daytime television, and she strides off into the bedroom, shaking her head and grumbling to herself. Cat lingers for a moment, wondering whether she should follow or stay out in the living room and begin work on Sam's gift. But before she can decide, something on the counter catches her eye. Sam's discarded phone, alone and half-drained of its battery from Sam's call, tantalizes Cat by doing nothing but sitting there on the counter, unguarded and ripe for the snooping. As if drawn by an otherworldly force, Cat finds herself walking over to the counter and picking up Sam's phone cautiously, as if just touching it will set off millions of alarms and bring Sam back from their room, yelling and flailing as angry as she was before. To her surprise, she picks it up without a hitch and opens Sam's recent calls. The most recent call has no contact name, but underneath the random number, in the neat white PearPhone script, are the words "Seattle, Washington".

And the only thing Cat can think is _why_.

**Aha! Much like the filling of my pumpkin pie, the plot thickens! Who is calling Sam from Seattle? What do they want? Will my Thanksgiving meal ever be ready? All these questions, and the ones you didn't even ask, will be answered next chapter. Maybe. What do I know? I'm just a high school student.**

**But seriously, thanks for reading, my friend! And review, please. For the children. **


	3. Blue Christmas Without You

_Blue Christmas Without You_

Cat hates silence. She doesn't hate much, it's hard to hate things when you're so in love with the world and everyone in it, but she does hate silence. She knows that silence can only mean bad things; after all, the only time her friends are ever quiet is if they're fighting or sad. But Cat is never silent, unless everyone else is, because then she doesn't know what to do. She can't fix it, because she also knows that it's very hard to fix things when you don't know where to start. But she could always fix things with Sam. They'd fought before, and they'd had their fair share of problems that needed fixing. Together, they were always able to work it out. But not this time. This time, the silence between them is overpowering, reminding Cat of humidity in the summer, and making her feel lower and more upset with each passing minute.

Sam is reclining on the couch, slouching so her stomach juts out and her chin comes to rest on her collarbone. She gives the impression of watching TV, but her glare is angry and although her eyes are focused on the Food Network, her mind is anywhere but here. Cat just watches, perched on her stool at the island and observing Sam, waiting for the tiniest flicker of life or move; at this point, she would take any sign, any indication that Sam is okay, or at the very least, alive. The noise from the TV is dull and almost lulls Cat to sleep right on the spot. It's so different from the usual bustle and chaos in the apartment, and it makes the pit of Cat's stomach harden and twist in worry.

"You can stop looking at me now," Sam says finally, in a voice that's neither sharp nor friendly.

Then she shuts of the TV and turns to Cat, her face unreadable. "What's up?"

The question makes the walls close around Cat and she struggles to find an answer, to breathe. She's never been good under pressure, and Sam's usually amiable blue eyes have turned icy and interrogating. The better part of her, the part that trusts Sam entirely, knows that it's not on purpose. Sam would never hurt her, would she? No, of course not, and Cat calms almost instantly, though Sam's gaze hasn't softened in the least. But Cat searches her features and it's still Sam. The girl who saved her from a garbage truck, the girl who brought her an entire TV set just to make her happy. The pressure eases, just a little, and the walls move back, but the question still hangs in the air and reflects in Sam's eyes.

"We…we need a tree," Cat says finally, her eyes darting to the empty space in the corner between the TV and the door that they had left open for the tree.

"I'll pick one up later," Sam replies with a dismissive wave of her hand. Then she squints at Cat. "What else is up?"

Cat recoils slightly and begins to turn away, but she's locked in place by Sam's gaze. She heaves a sigh and comes to stand in front of Sam, looking down at her on the couch with a bashful, sheepish look.

"Who called you from Seattle?"

The words hang in the air uncomfortably for a moment, as a shadow crosses over Sam's face once more and her eyes melt from their iciness to a burning, flickering anger. Cat averts her eyes from Sam's steely gaze and leans back on her heels, twining her fingers together and trying to stop herself from falling too deep into the dark, unforgiving pit of regret.

"It was nothing," Sam says, her voice hard and steady, but her face reveals the swirling storm of emotion beneath the surface.

"Come on," Cat whines, plopping down on the couch beside Sam and nudging her softly. "You always take care of my problems. I wanna take care of yours."

"Right." Sam replies with a bitter laugh.

"Come on," Cat repeats, reaching out without thinking and covering Sam's hand with hers. "We're friends and I can help you, if you'd just let me."

Cat is sure her mind is playing tricks on her, as it usually is fond of doing, but she swears that she felt Sam's hand tremble under hers. She looks up, unafraid, and meets Sam's eyes, sees the turmoil and uncertainty churning beneath her stony exterior. But she can see Sam slowly cracking; even someone as tough and masked as her is not immune to pressure. Cat feels her heart swell with an emotion so strong and powerful that it overwhelms her instantly and leaves her feeling breathless. She can't name it, but it's something she's never felt before, something that she doesn't recognize, and something that scares her just a little. But she hurries to erase the worry that she knows has emerged on her face. She has to be strong, for Sam.

"Trust me," she murmurs.

Sam rolls her eyes and lets out an exaggerated huff, and Cat decides to play along. If Sam has to act tough and uncaring before the barriers come crumbling down, so be it.

"It was Freddie," she begins with another disgusted roll of her eyes. "He called to tell me that everyone up in Seattle wants me home for Christmas."

"Who's everyone?" Cat asks innocently, her heart hammering in her chest because she feels she already knows the answer.

Sam shrugs dejectedly, "Freddie and Spencer. And my mom, I guess. He kept saying that he'd talked to my mom and that she wanted me to come home, but I haven't heard from her. And then he told me Carly was coming home too, but I didn't hear from her either."

"So what are you gonna do?"

There is a voice in Cat's head that knows the answer, whispering it madly in a cruel, shrill hiss, relentless and terrifying. But Cat tries her best to block out the voice, to strain for hope and for Sam and Cat, for Christmas and togetherness. Because Sam wouldn't leave her alone on their first Christmas together, would she? Cat believes so firmly in Sam, the way a child believes in Santa and the way an innocent believes a liar, because they don't know any better and because they want to so badly that they delude themselves into it. She holds onto the good that she know Sam holds within her, holds onto the perfection of their togetherness, the care that she sometimes detects in Sam's eyes. She forces herself to look up at Sam, find some sign that confirms her hope and seals her trust in Sam solidly. But the face she finds is not one of certainty or bravery or dedication.

And the answer she receives is even worse. "I don't know."

In a rush of disbelief and heartbreak, everything comes tumbling down around Cat. Sam might leave her here alone for Christmas; even the fact that she's considering it makes Cat's heart clench. The lofty, shining pedestal that Sam once sat on in Cat's mind tumbles to the ground, ash and dust filling the air and clouding Cat's senses, clogging her emotions with confusion and fear. And finally, her outsides break too, and the flood gates open. Before she can stop herself, before she can even fully rise from the couch and escape into the kitchen, the tears are flowing, warm and hateful against her cheeks.

"Kid," Sam scolds, her voice lacking any of its usual edge, however. "Don't cry."

Cat whirls around, facing Sam with watery eyes, "I can't help it! You're gonna l-leave me. And tomorrow's Christmas Eve."

With that, she buries her head in her hands and the tears flow anew, spluttering and unstoppable. She hears Sam sigh softly near her and a gentle, welcome warmth envelopes her in a somewhat awkward embrace. She cracks one eye open blearily and finds herself completely surrounded by Sam, her nose buried in her golden hair with Sam's strong arms wrapped loosely around her waist. It's not the hug Cat had always dreamed of, but it's a hug from Sam and it's more comforting than Sam will ever know. But it doesn't stop the tears. It only serves to remind her that no matter what Sam does now, she could be leaving soon and the thought of being alone in the apartment for Christmas, with only the too-cheery decorations for company, sends Cat shivering.

"I don't know if I'm going," Sam says in a hushed, soothing voice that Cat didn't know she possessed. She pulls away slightly so she can look Cat in the eyes. "For now, let's just say I'm not going, okay?"

Cat nods shakily, sniffling and attempting to smile in her usually cheery fashion, but she finds that her entire being is too heavy to be coaxed into smiling, even if it is for Sam's sake. Sam smiles slightly, but the mood remains uncomfortable and the tension still hangs in the air, covering the two of them like a heavy blanket and slowly suffocating them, stopping them from speaking and moving. Finally, it's Sam who musters up the last of her strength with a squaring of her shoulders and an intake of breath and throws the blanket up from over them.

"I'll make hot chocolate," she offers somewhat awkwardly and maybe a bit too kindly. "And we can watch a movie."

Her voice is soft and sure of herself, and she sets off in the kitchen, busying herself and preparing their hot chocolate. Cat sinks back onto the couch, feeling suddenly vulnerable and exhausted after her rush of emotion. She watches Sam work, a clear reminder of how much Sam cares for her, even if it is in secret. But even the precision and care that Sam uses while making their hot chocolate does nothing to dispel the fear and worry from Cat's mind. When Sam returns to the couch bearing two steaming mugs of cocoa, they begin the movie and sit in silence for the rest of the night, weighed down by their private thoughts and worries until the night grew late and sleep overtook them.

Cat doesn't remember moving to her bed the night before, but in its comfort and warmth she is glad that she ended up here, one way or the other. With bleary eyes and shoulders achy from oversleeping, she sits up slowly, stretching and gazing around the room as she usually does in search of her favorite roommate. Surprisingly, Sam's messy bed is empty and the sheets are even folded neatly on her bed, crisp and clean instead of looking like a tornado had just blown through Sam's dark and tough side of the room. A surge of panic builds in Cat's stomach and rushes upward until her breath catches in her throat. She leaps out of bed, throwing the covers back and practically sprinting into the main foyer of the apartment, her feet barely touching the cold ground.

"Sam?" She cries, her voice sounding desperate and childlike even to her ears.

She is met with the thing she fears the most: silence. The motorcycle is gone, the leather jacket that hangs by Cat's pink Hollywood Arts sweatshirt is not in its usual hook, and all signs of Sam have been erased from the apartment. The only remnant is the decorations, that seem to reverberate with _Sam, Sam, Sam _and echo a past dream, a dream of a perfect Christmas with the perfect girl, a dream that has now been obliterated.

Cat sinks down onto the couch and buries her head in her hands, not to cry, but just to escape the emptiness and sadness of it all.

**God dang I made Cat so emotional what the heckity heck. But hey, it's a chapter. And I think it's an all right one. Also, I think there's only one more chapter after this so it may be done before Christmas! Wouldn't that be great? A Christmas fic, finished before Christmas. Golly gee. Who could've guessed?**

**But really, how'd I do? And what are your plans for the holidays? Review, loves, for reviews make the mistletoe grow!**


	4. Home for the Holidays

**Could it be? The final chapter of this little story, posted after Christmas? The horror, the travesty! I will forever be known as the writer who never posts things on time. Well, that's not news to me. Honestly, though, I apologize for being so late, but at least it's finished, right? And come on, I know y'all have some leftover holiday spirit just begging to be used. **

**Thanks to everyone who came along for the ride and supported me throughout my first chaptered Puckentine fic, especially my friends on the Puckentine tag of tumblr and all you lovely reviewers. There's no place like the Puckentine tag for the holidays.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this ride as much as I did. So without further ado, enjoy, review, have a great holiday and a happy New Year, and viva la Puckentine!**

_Home for the Holidays_

The first thing Cat realizes is that there's music playing in the living room. She blinks slowly, her eyes feeling sore and dry from her crying earlier, and sits up, straining her ears to hear the bustling coming from the living room. Fear grips her almost instantly and she instinctively whips around to find Sam and plead with her until she goes to investigate, but the empty bed that awaits her shatters her heart all over again. Tears well in her eyes and she hurries to stifle them, because she has a job to do. She has to be brave, like Sam, and go investigate before Christmas Eve is ruined by intruders into her lonely little apartment. On light feet and with a heavy, threatening-looking object she grabbed from Sam's side of the room, Cat makes her way out into the living room, trying to breathe as quietly as possible and stop her heart from hammering wildly in her chest. But when she enters the room, a surprised shriek tears free from her pursed lips and she goes to cover her mouth, the heavy weapon falling to the ground with a noisy clatter.

She had prepared herself for robbers or bandits or pirates or whatever else breaks into apartments on Christmas Eve, but she didn't consider, wouldn't allow herself to consider, that it could be Sam, standing in front of a glorious, rich green Christmas tree strung head to toe with beautiful, twinkling lights. Sam whirls around, surprise evident on her face too until it morphs into a sheepish smile Cat has never seen Sam don. Sam closes the space between them quickly and comes to stand in front of Cat, her arms spread apart and her smile proud and maybe even warm and friendly.

"What do you think?" She asks grandly, and for the first time Cat notices that the decorations in the apartment aren't her Nona's old stuff, but brand new, bright, and beautiful tinsel and ornaments and wreaths and lights.

"But…"Cat splutters, trying to take it all in. The entire apartment looks more like Christmas than Cat has ever seen and it's so beautiful and magical, but not as great as the girl standing before her, clad in a leather jacket and wearing a confident smile. Then her eyes land on the tree and she pushes by Sam as if in a trance.

The tree is tall and full, smelling truly like Christmas and all decked out in new, bright lights. A few ornaments hang haphazardly off of its strong branches and a half-empty box of ornaments sits near it, waiting to be assigned a place on the glorious tree. Cat's eyes well with new tears, because she finally has a tree, because it was Sam who got it for her, and because Sam is even here at all. She turns around to see Sam watching her almost regretfully and Cat forces herself not to be emotional, at least for now.

"Why are you here?" Cat asks softly, meeting Sam's eyes to search for honesty.

Sam gives a shrug like she doesn't care, but in her eyes Cat can see that she's all too aware of how much this means to her. "Because there's nowhere I'd rather be for Christmas."

And the answer is so wonderful, so promising, and so unlike Sam that Cat just throws herself at her, laughing and crying and holding Sam tightly around the neck. To Cat's surprise, Sam actually hugs her back (around the waist, she notes with a shudder) and doesn't complain when Cat nuzzles her neck affectionately. For a few long and beautiful moments, they just stand there, holding each other while Christmas music blares over the speakers and the lights on the tree and around the apartment twinkle merrily. It's the perfect Christmas, the one Cat always wanted, and it's only Christmas Eve.

"Come on," Sam encourages finally. "Let's finish the tree."

"Kay, kay!" Cat chirrups in response. "And then I can give you your gift."

They decorate the tree slowly, relishing every moment and trying to make the tree as perfect as possible. They sing with the music and fight playfully over the ornaments and when their hands brush as they reach for the same ornament, there's a sudden spark and flood of warmth as they look up and smile at each other. Cat feels like there's Christmas lights glowing inside of her, all warm and twinkling and happy, and she can see that Sam feels the same way, her eyes aglow and sparkling with genuine happiness. Sam steps back, sighing contentedly and looking the tree up and down.

"I think we're done," she says with a nod.

Cat joins her, their arms brushing together as they both raise their eyes to look at the tree in all its Christmassy glory. "Yeah."

They're both entranced by the tree for a moment, glowing and tall and beautiful in the dark, before Cat gasps loudly and sprints for their room. Sam waits with raised eyebrows until she returns, bearing a slim gift wrapped in red, festive paper.

"Open it!" She proclaims proudly, thrusting the gift into Sam's hands.

Sam unwraps it cautiously, because a gift from Cat could mean literally anything and she had learned her lesson since the Christmas sweater. But the gift isn't anything crazy or unwearable, it's just a CD in a plastic case, with the words "Merry Christmas Sam!" written neatly on the CD in Cat's girly, cutesy script and a heart drawn on either side of Sam's name. A lined piece of paper is taped to the back of the case and Sam rips it off and unfolds it, reading the list of songs that Cat had apparently burned onto the CD. She recognizes a few, such as "Sweater Weather" and "The Only Exception" but others are more obscure. But the ones she does recognize, she knows are love songs. A strange combination of panic and pleasure grips her heart and she looks up at Cat, who's biting her lip in anticipation.

"This is awesome," she says, smiling up at her friend and realizing that her smile is actually real.

"I knew you'd love it! I was kinda not sure at first, 'cause it was Tori's idea but now I'm really glad I did it. You look so happy!" Cat beams, bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly.

"I am," Sam assures her with a half-hearted laugh and shake of her head. "Now, let me get your gift."

Cat squeals with delight and Sam rolls her eyes, but with affection instead of irritation. Cat is as happy as ever and it's as if Sam never left, or even considered leaving. Sam takes her jacket from where it lies discarded on their kitchen table and digs around in the deep pocket until she finds what she was looking for. When she turns around, however, Cat isn't sitting on the couch, instead she's at their large sound system, inserting the CD and turning the volume up so Sam can clearly hear the first strains of guitar filling the apartment.

"Is that my gift?!" Cat asks, hurrying over to meet Sam at the table.

Sam opens her mouth to answer, but is briefly distracted when she hears the words of the upbeat, affectionate song.

_Home, let me go home, home is wherever I'm with you._

She tries (really, she does) not to think about it, but the more the song continues the more she can feel her heart swell with affection, even though she knows all too well that she shouldn't let it happen. But when she finally looks at Cat, sees the adoration and love glowing in her dark brown eyes, Sam decides that maybe it isn't such a bad thing that she cares so much for Cat, so much that it borders on love, because maybe Cat feels the same way.

"What?" Sam says, snapping from her trance and blocking out the song again. "Oh, yeah, here."

She hands Cat the little velvet jewelry box and leans against the table with her arms crossed as if she couldn't care less as she waits for Cat to open it. Cat snaps the box open and her face breaks out into a dazzling, breathtaking smile and she looks up and meets Sam's gaze, her eyes watering with gratitude and emotion.

"It's beautiful," she says, pulling the gold chain from the box and holding it up to the light. Then her brow furrows slightly as she fingers the single gold charm. "What's this?"

Sam had planned it, of course, she had thought it all out meticulously last night as she stayed awake, staring at the ceiling and making decisions about Christmas, about Cat, and about herself. She had thought about it all this morning as she bustled around trying to get Cat's perfect Christmas together before Christmas Eve ended. But now that the moment is here, she finds that her hands are shaking and she inwardly scoffs with disgust. She's Sam Puckett and she's brave and fearless and she's going to do this because Sam Puckett is a girl who goes after what she wants. She takes the necklace from Cat and holds up high with one hand, so the charm is just over their heads. And then she tilts her head and leans in, pressing her lips against Cat's gently with a ghost of a kiss until Cat responds with her own lips and they melt until the perfect Christmas kiss.

When they pull apart, Sam smiles sheepishly and holds the necklace out to Cat. "It's mistletoe, see?"

The gold charm flashes in the light, and with a closer look Cat can see that it does resemble mistletoe, with two gold leaves held together by a little bow. It's the most thoughtful gift she has ever received, not to mention that it came with the bonus that Sam _finally _kissed her.

"Can you put it on me?" Cat breathes, her eyes not leaving Sam's.

"Sure, kid," Sam replies, unlatching the necklace and leaning forward to put it around Cat's neck. Her hands brush through Cat's hair and against her skin and their bodies are pressed up against each other so close that they can feel the warmth radiating from one another.

When she pulls away, Sam reaches out and touches the mistletoe charm gently. "It looks good."

A new song is playing over the speakers now, "The Only Exception" and Cat smiles softly up at Sam before saying, "Dance with me."

So Sam holds her close and they sway back and forth in time with the music, hips moving together and hands fiercely interlocked around one another. Sam dips Cat back at the bridge of the song and kisses her again, just because she knows she can. They keep dancing although the song ends and a new one begins. They dance to every song, swaying to the slow ones and jumping around in circles and holding hands to the faster ones. They sing along to every song, Cat in her rich, passionate voice and Sam in a quieter, rougher one, and they kiss at every bridge.

Finally, after the CD ends and they're exhausted from dancing, they collapse on the couch together and turn on the TV just in time to catch the late-night holiday specials. Cat cuddles up next to Sam, resting her head on her shoulder and Sam holds her close with one arm, this time feeling no shame or anger at her raging emotions. In fact, they've almost stopped raging entirely; now she just feels content.

"Sam?" Cat asks somewhat drowsily, looking up at her with half-lidded eyes.

"Yeah?" Sam replies.

"Thanks…for everything today. You could've left to go see your friends, but you didn't."

"Eh," Sam says with a shrug. "It was nothing. I don't think I missed anything anyway, besides my mom yelling at me and Spencer setting something on fire and Freddie trying to get Carly under some mistletoe. It's way more fun here."

"But won't they be mad at you?" Cat furrows her brow in worry and meets Sam's eyes, even in the relative darkness of their apartment.

Sam shrugs again and then smiles fondly. "They'll understand when I tell them I finally did something about my crush on you."

Sam purses her lips together and scowls when she realizes what she had said, but Cat just beams up at her again. "You told them?!"

"Well, I told Carly," Sam deadpans. "I think she'll be pretty happy for me."

"I know I am," Cat replies, cuddling closer to Sam and holding her arm loosely.

Even though it made almost no sense, Sam finds herself smiling anyway and reaches down to brush her lips against Cat's forehead. A part of her is surprised at how affectionate and open she's being, but most of her doesn't care, since Cat has always been the exception to most of Sam's behavior. And now that she has her, why bother stifling anything anymore?

"Hey," Sam says once she catches a glimpse of the clock. "It's Christmas."

Cat looks up at the clock on the wall and squeals when she sees that it reads 12:03. Three minutes past midnight, three minutes into their first Christmas together.

"Merry Christmas, Puckell," Cat announces, grinning up at Sam with an adorable, cheeky smile.

"Merry Christmas, Valentine," Sam replies and closes the gap between them with a soft, lingering kiss.

And when the separate and smile at each other as if they're sharing the greatest secret, the greatest friendship, the greatest love in the world, Sam can't help but look forward to the many Christmases she somehow just _knows_ she'll be spending with Cat.

**Well, there you have it, folks! It's finally finished. I have an idea for another fic called **_**The Way We Talk **_**which should be up soon, but I'm way behind on updating my other fic which really needs to be finished considering it's been almost 2 years. Sheesh. Either way, expect more from me soon and thank you all once again for all your reviews, favorites, follows, and other much-needed support. Y'all are the best! **


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